That depends on a lot of factors, but there is a way to figure it out using a navigational aid called a Time Control Plan.

Time control plans (TCP) are used to estimate the time and required to reach a destination and predefined way points along the way. Planning a TCP forces you to carefully study your topographic maps before you start a hike and take into account individual or group factors that can increase or decrease your pace. It’s also a useful tool to help you gauge whether you’re ahead or behind schedule, so that you can plan contingencies, such as stopping to camp before dark or turning around because there’s no way you can make your destination before nightfall.

How to Create a Time Control Plan

Creating a time control plan is a straightforward process:

Determine your route.

Estimate your pace.

Measure the distance and elevation gain between points along your route.

Calculate the time of travel between those points.

Add rest break times

Once you’ve completed this process, you can compile the data in a table which shows the cumulative distance and elevation gain you expect to travel and how long it will take you.

As a practical example, I’ve created a Time Control Plan for a Presidential Traverse, but you can apply the same process to create your own TCP for any hike or backpacking trip.

Mount Adams from the summit of Mount Madison

Determine your route

There are many possible trails you can hike to complete a Presidential Traverse. At a minimum, you need to climb Mounts Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce, although some people summit additional peaks too. There are also many different combinations of trails you can hike to climb these mountains.

If you’re not familiar with the trail system, the best way to figure out the route is to hike it with someone who’s hiked a Presidential Traverse before. If that’s not possible, you can plan your route using the AMC White Mountain Guide which describes all of the possible trails you can use, their length and elevation gain, or you can derive this information from the AMC’s White Mountain topographic maps.

In the following example, I’ve planned a route that starts from the Appalachia Parking Lot below Mt Madison on Rt 2 outside of Gorham, NH. This is a pretty typical, non-winter route that has one more challenging segment that climbs Mt Adams via the Star Lake Trail.

Trail

Way Point

Valley Way

Appalachia Parking Lot (1306')

Randolph Path Crossing

Watson Path Crossing

Upper Bruin

Mt Madison Hut

Mt Madison Summit

Mt Madison Hut

Star Lake Trail

Buttress Trail

Mt Adams Summit

Lowes Path

Thunderstorm Junction

Gulfside Trail

Israel Ridge Path, north junction

Israel Ridge Path, north junction

Edmands Col

Mt Jefferson Loop, north end

Mt Jefferson Loop

Mt Jefferson Summit

Gulfside Trail Junction

Gulfside Trail

Sphinx Trail Junction

Mt Clay Loop, north end

Jewell Trail Junction

Mt Clay Loop, south end

Westside Trail

Great Gulf Trail

Trinity Heights Connector

Crawford Path

Crawford Path

Mt Washington Summit

Lakes of the Clouds Hut

Mt Monroe Loop

Mt Monroe Summit

Crawford Path

Crawford Path

Mt Eisenhower Loop, north end

Mt Eisenhower Summit

Mt Eisenhower Loop, south end

Mt Pierce Summit

Crawford Path Trail head

The Loop Trail Junction – Up to Mt Jefferson

Estimate your pace

The next step in creating a TCP is to estimate your pace. The AMC’s White Mountain Guide uses the following formula, often referred to as “book time” to estimate hiking pace on established hiking trails: 2 mile per hour and 30 minutes for each 1000 feet of elevation gain. If you hike at this pace, it would take you 1.5 hours to hike a distance of two miles with 1000 feet of elevation gain.

People who don’t hike a lot will travel at a much slower pace, especially if they’re climbing up a steep hill. Large groups of hikers are also slower because they take longer breaks. But some people hike much faster than book time, which is why you may want to incorporate a different pace estimate into a TCP. I explain how to do this below.

Measure the distance and elevation gain between points along your route

While the AMC White Mountain Guide lists all of the segment lengths and elevation gains displayed in the table below, you can also derive this information from a topographic map or a mapping program like Caltopo using an elevation profiling tool. This is handy when you hike off-trail or on trails that don’t have guide books with this information.

Trail

Point

Segment Distance (miles)

Cumulative Distance (miles)

Segment Elevation Gain (Feet)

Cumulative Elevation Gain (feet)

Valley Way

Appalachia Parking Lot (1306')

0

0

0

0

Randolph Path Crossing

0.9

0.9

650

650

Watson Path Crossing

1.5

2.4

1300

1900

Upper Bruin

0.9

3.3

1000

2900

Mt Madison Hut

0.5

3.8

650

3550

Mt Madison Summit

0.4

4.2

550

4100

Mt Madison Hut

0.4

4.6

0

4100

Star Lake Trail

Buttress Trail

0.3

4.9

100

4200

Mt Adams Summit

0.4

5.3

900

5100

Lowes Path

Thunderstorm Junction

0.3

5.6

0

5100

Gulfside Trail

Israel Ridge Path, north junction

0.1

5.7

0

5100

Israel Ridge Path, north junction

0.5

6.2

0

5100

Edmands Col

0.7

6.9

0

5100

Mt Jefferson Loop, north end

0.2

7.1

200

5300

Mt Jefferson Loop

Mt Jefferson Summit

0.4

7.5

600

5900

Gulfside Trail Junction

0.2

7.7

0

5900

Gulfside Trail

Sphinx Trail Junction

0.6

8.3

0

5900

Mt Clay Loop, north end

0.1

8.4

50

5950

Jewell Trail Junction

0.8

9.2

400

6350

Mt Clay Loop, south end

0.3

9.5

50

6400

Westside Trail

0.1

9.6

100

6500

Great Gulf Trail

0.5

10.1

450

6950

Trinity Heights Connector

0.2

10.3

150

7100

Crawford Path

0.1

10.4

50

7150

Crawford Path

Mt Washington Summit

0.2

10.6

150

7300

Lakes of the Clouds Hut

1.5

12.1

0

7300

Mt Monroe Loop

Mt Monroe Summit

0.3

12.4

350

7650

Crawford Path

0.4

12.8

0

7650

Crawford Path

Mt Eisenhower Loop, north end

1.2

14

0

7650

Mt Eisenhower Summit

0.25

14.25

300

7950

Mt Eisenhower Loop, south end

0.3

14.55

0

7950

Mt Pierce Summit

1.7

16.25

300

8250

Crawford Path Trail head

3.3

19.55

50

8300

Mt Washington, Tarns, and Lake of the Clouds Hut

Calculate the time of travel for each segment based on your pace

If you can maintain a “book time” pace, it will take you 14 hours to hike a 19.55 mile Presidential Traverse with 8300 feet of elevation gain, as shown in the table below.

Trail

Point

Segment Distance (miles)

Cumulative Distance Hiked (miles)

Segment Elevation Gain (Feet)

Cumulative Elevation Gain (feet)

Segment time (minutes)

Cumulative Elapsed Time (hours:minutes)

Valley Way

Appalachia Parking Lot (1306')

0

0

0

0

0

0

Randolph Path Crossing

0.9

0.9

650

650

46.5

0:50

Watson Path Crossing

1.5

2.4

1300

1900

84

2:10

Upper Bruin

0.9

3.3

1000

2900

57

3:10

Mt Madison Hut

0.5

3.8

650

3550

34.5

3:45

Mt Madison Summit

0.4

4.2

550

4100

28.5

4:10

Mt Madison Hut

0.4

4.6

0

4100

12

4:25

Star Lake Trail

Buttress Trail

0.3

4.9

100

4200

12

4:35

Mt Adams Summit

0.4

5.3

900

5100

39

5:15

Lowes Path

Thunderstorm Junction

0.3

5.6

0

5100

9

5:25

Gulfside Trail

Israel Ridge Path, north junction

0.1

5.7

0

5100

3

5:25

Israel Ridge Path, north junction

0.5

6.2

0

5100

15

5:40

Edmands Col

0.7

6.9

0

5100

21

6:05

Mt Jefferson Loop, north end

0.2

7.1

200

5300

12

6:15

Mt Jefferson Loop

Mt Jefferson Summit

0.4

7.5

600

5900

30

6:45

Gulfside Trail Junction

0.2

7.7

0

5900

6

6:50

Gulfside Trail

Sphinx Trail Junction

0.6

8.3

0

5900

18

7:10

Mt Clay Loop, north end

0.1

8.4

50

5950

4.5

7:15

Jewell Trail Junction

0.8

9.2

400

6350

36

7:50

Mt Clay Loop, south end

0.3

9.5

50

6400

10.5

8:00

Westside Trail

0.1

9.6

100

6500

6

8:05

Great Gulf Trail

0.5

10.1

450

6950

28.5

8:35

Trinity Heights Connector

0.2

10.3

150

7100

10.5

8:45

Crawford Path

0.1

10.4

50

7150

4.5

8:50

Crawford Path

Mt Washington Summit

0.2

10.6

150

7300

10.5

9:00

Lakes of the Clouds Hut

1.5

12.1

0

7300

45

9:45

Mt Monroe Loop

Mt Monroe Summit

0.3

12.4

350

7650

19.5

10:05

Crawford Path

0.4

12.8

0

7650

12

10:15

Crawford Path

Mt Eisenhower Loop, north end

1.2

14

0

7650

36

10:55

Mt Eisenhower Summit

0.25

14.25

300

7950

16.5

11:10

Mt Eisenhower Loop, south end

0.3

14.55

0

7950

9

11:20

Mt Pierce Summit

1.7

16.25

300

8250

60

12:20

Crawford Path Trail head

3.3

19.55

50

8300

100.5

14:00

While the AMC White Mountain Guide lists all of the estimated hiking times listed above (based on a book time pace), you can calculate your segment travel times with a different pace using the following formula:

For example, if you hike at 3 miles per hour and can climb 1000 feet in 20 minutes, it would take you (2/3 x 60) + ((1000/1000) x 20) or 60 minutes to hike 2 miles with 1ooo feet of elevation gain.

If you use kilometers and meters, you can simply substitute them into the formula above replacing miles and feet.

Once you’ve computed the new segment times, you can add them all up and get a cumulative time estimate for a given route and pace. If you’re creating a TCP in a spreadsheet, this is a excellent reference for calculating cumulative column values.

Cairns on Mount Eisenhower

Adding rest break times

No one hikes a complete Presidential Traverse without stopping a few times to refill their water bottles at the Madison Springs Hut or the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, or to grab a chili dog at the Mt Washington Cafeteria. If you figure on 20 minute stops at the huts and an hour long break on Mt Washington, you’ll want to add another 1:40 to your Presidential Traverse Time Control Plan.

10 comments

When estimating how much time a hiker will need to complete the traverse It’s also a good idea to factor in possible weather delays. Over the years, I’ve talked to several people who, after traveling to NH from various parts of the country, were forced to abandon their traverse attempt due to rigid travel schedules after encountering bad weather during the hike.

Exactly. But once you have the expected time documented for a “fair weather” hike as shown, you can start padding it out with extra times to account for weather delays. It’s also a good tool to literally have in your pocket, so you can add in those bad weather delays while on the hike and figure out how far you’ll be able to get before you have to call it a night or bug out.

This is much less of an issue in the eastern US, but altitude is another factor that will tend to slow your pace, especially on uphill climbs. I start to notice this at 5000-6000 feet higher than I live, and it just gets more noticeable as I go even higher. A JMT hike would be a good example of when this needs to be factored in your planning.

You are correct about it not usually being a problem on the east coast. I can feel myself tiring quicker up around 5,000ft and higher. Fortunately out here that is only really an issue on a handful of peaks, and even then its a very limited amount of time.

Out West do you have any rules of thumb about how much harder it gets as you get higher? Like 10% slow down per 2000ft?

Once you have the route, segment lengths, and elevation gain/loss in a spreadsheet (or tabular form), you can go wild with adding in different pace formulas for descents or different terrains (boulder fields,afternoon snow fields,carrying 4 gallons of extra water). But no, I’m not aware of any rules of thumb. The pace formula used here is linear, although there’s nothing preventing you from applying different paces during the course of the route.

I find that my pace on level ground and descents at altitude is about the same as it is at sea level, but going uphill is when I notice a big difference. I live in NE Ohio at about 700 feet elevation. Depending somewhat on how steep it is, at 8000 feet I probably go 1.5 mph uphill rather than 2.0 mph; at 10000 I probably go 1.25 mph and at 12000 I may slow down to 1 mph. Above 12000 maybe .75 mph and above 14000 maybe .5 mph (eg Nepal). Your mileage may vary, as they say. ; )

Estimate your pace, then multiply by two for the Presidentials–because they do not really have trails. Instead, much of the “trail” is just a marked rock scramble. I thought it was just me until I met two through-hikers who had been regularly walking 20 miles/day who were complaining that they were down to 10 miles/day through the Presidentials. Impressive mountains, but it is easy to bite off more than you can really enjoy.

Great article. Doing stuff like this can save lives. I think that regardless of minutiae, the simple concept of pretrip planning, familiarizing oneself with the terrain and topography, and planning accordingly is solely lacking in the city- centric outdoors community. This is fantastic “boots on the ground” advice.